BLC Communities
At the heart of BLC are its membership Communities. These Communities drive BLC's core activities forward and welcome members from across the BLC network.
BLC Communities range from spaces designed for professional networking and idea sharing among colleagues, to board-appointed committees and groups focused on specific projects or initiatives. Learn more and get involved, here.
Standing Committees
BLC's Standing Committees are appointed by the BLC Board of Directors to oversee core operational and strategic areas of consortial activity.
Steering Committees and Working Groups
Steering Committees and Working Groups focus on emergent opportunities and collaborative initiatives, usually with a fixed duration.
Communities of Practice
BLC's Communities of Practice are forums for collaboration and exchange around common areas of practice, with membership restricted to individuals with specific roles and responsibilities.
Communities of Interest
Communities of Interest are forums for collaboration and exchange around common areas of practice and current issues, open to all interested individuals.
Caucuses
BLC's Caucuses are forums for collaboration, exchange, and conversation for under-recognized library workers or LIS students (at any level), open to all regional library workers or students (within and outside of BLC) who identify.
Board Committees
BLC's Board of Directors maintains three committees: the Executive Committee, the Finance Committee and the Governance Committee.
Resources for BLC Communities
Recommended Practices for BLC Communities
This document aims to guide Communities while allowing them the flexibility to determine and adopt procedures that suit their needs.
Find info on:
- Co-Chair Expectations and Support
- Communications and Meeting Practices
New Community Proposal Template
Librarians and library staff interested in creating new BLC Communities are encouraged to work with the BLC team to submit a proposal.
Proposals should include:
- An Exploration of Need
- Community Charge
- Description of Potential Activities
Funding for BLC Communities
BLC Communities of Interest, Communities of Practice, Working Groups, Committees, Caucuses, and independent coalitions may apply for funding awards to enrich their collective work.
Find info on:
- BLC's Innovation Fund
- BLC's Reserve Fund
- Recently Funded Projects
Standing Committees
BLC's Standing Committees are appointed by the BLC Board of Directors to oversee core operational and strategic areas of consortial activity.
Heads of Resource Sharing
Provides oversight of BLC’s ILL service and makes recommendations to the BLC board.
Heads of Resource Management
Defines and articulates a vision for a BLC collective collection, and more.
Steering Committees and Working Groups
BLC's Steering Committees and Working Groups focus on emergent opportunities and collaborative initiatives, usually with a fixed duration.
Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Steering Committee
Articulating an EDI strategy and long-term goals to advance consortial EDI efforts at scale.
OCLC Steering Committee
Advising BLC's Board on OCLC products, services, and group subscriptions.
Communities of Practice
BLC's Communities of Practice are forums for collaboration and exchange around common areas of practice, with membership restricted to individuals with specific roles and responsibilities.
Senior Managers
Share ideas and best practices on leadership, strategy, and library organization.
Human Resources
Develop and execute project-based initiatives to create change in HR policy and practice.
Alma/Primo
Develop, pilot, and collaborate on projects with Alma/Primo libraries in the BLC.
BLC Leads Alumni
Network, grow, and collaborate. The BLC Leads Alumni COP is open to all alumni of the BLC Leads program.
Communities of Interest
BLC's Communities of Interest are forums for collaboration and exchange around common areas of practice and current issues, open to all interested individuals.
Access Services
Network, share resources, and learn from colleagues about Access Services issues.
Archives and Special Collections
Network, share, discuss, and act on issues of importance to archives and special collections.
Assessment
Share information and support colleagues in assessment activities and learning.
Business
Discuss day-to-day and lifecycle management of library resources across all formats
Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion
Collaborate on and discuss current institution member EDI projects, programming, and services.
Government Documents
Collaborate and discuss issues relating to providing government information for research.
Health Sciences
Discover a supportive community for sharing health sciences resources for library workers.
Media
Discuss issues and developments in the field of audiovisual media, from analog to digital formats.
Metadata and Resource Management
Discuss day-to-day and lifecycle management of library resources across all formats.
Open Education Resources
Support and expand the use of open educational resources across BLC member libraries.
Resource Sharing
Network, learn, and help BLC libraries provide quality, cost-effective, and timely interlibrary loan.
Technology
Share information, collaborate, communicate with vendors, and learn from colleagues.
Web Archiving
Collaborate about issues related to web archiving in libraries and the broader GLAM community.
Caucuses
It is important for marginalized groups to have exclusive spaces where they can come together for purposes of healing, sharing, and organization. The Boston Library Consortium's Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Community of Interest (EDI COI) has established caucuses for underrepresented library workers or LIS students (at any level) in the Northeastern region of the United States.
Those who identify as Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), and/or Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual/Aromantic/Agender (LGBTQIA+) are welcome.
Board Committees
The Board of Directors maintains three committees whose composition is limited to current BLC board members: the Executive Committee, the Finance Committee and the Governance Committee.